


starshine and summer nights

by marvel_middleearth



Category: Magisterium Series - Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Genre: Constellations, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Set during the start of Bronze Key when Aaron is staying at Call's for the summer, Stargazing, except we're going to pretend the rest of Bronze Key didn't happen okay?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:33:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvel_middleearth/pseuds/marvel_middleearth
Summary: Aaron throws himself onto the grass at the top of the hill, shaking strands of blond hair out of his eyes. He hugs his knees to his chest and stares upward, awestruck.“Pretty cool, huh?” Call says, sitting down beside him. Havoc snaps cheerfully at a moth as it flutters past, then contents himself with flopping down on Call’s other side, letting out a huff.“Yeah.” Aaron’s voice is barely a breath, soft and reverent. He looks absolutely enamoured with the view above them. Call doesn’t blame him.“Wanna spot constellations?” Call asks.“I don’t know any,” Aaron admits.Call bumps his shoulder gently. “I’ll show you.”
Relationships: Callum Hunt/Aaron Stewart
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	starshine and summer nights

**Author's Note:**

> The Magisterium fandom has emerged from the void to swallow my soul again, so it looks like I'm writing calron fics now ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“It’s official,” Call declares, slumping in his seat at the kitchen table. “I have no idea what to do.”

Aaron sips on his glass of lemonade, mixed up from powder and water only minutes earlier. “We could go under the sprinkler again,” he suggests.

“It’s not hot enough outside,” Call insists. They’ve been debating this for the past ten minutes, and at this point, Call is putting up an argument simply for the sake of being obstinate.

“Watch a movie?”

“We’ve already watched the entire Star Wars series three times this summer.”

“We could, y’know, actually practice magic,” Aaron points out.

Call squints at him suspiciously. “When did Master Rufus sneak in here and replace my best friend?”

Aaron laughs, swirling his glass to dissolve the lemonade powder. “Fine. Cross that off the list, then. But I bet Tamara is going to be heaps better than we are by the time we get back to school.”

They let out identical sighs. Call slumps further into his seat. Any minute now, he’s going to slump so far he’ll disappear under the kitchen table.

Alastair walks into the kitchen, his hands greasy with motor oil from working in the workshop, and proceeds to wash his hands in the sink. He shoots the two boys a curious glance over his shoulder. “What are you two up to?” he asks.

“Nothing, apparently,” Aaron replies gloomily.

“We’re completely stuck on what to do,” Call explains, shifting upright in his seat and reaching across the table to steal Aaron’s lemonade. “Do you have any ideas?”

"You two should go stargazing," Alastair suggests. "It looks like it's going to be a clear night tonight."

"Stargazing?" Aaron's eyes light up. "I've never been stargazing before." He turns hopeful green eyes on Call, and it’s all over. Call can never deny Aaron anything: he thinks it’s probably the angelic combination of fern-green eyes and flaxen hair that does it.

"It's decided," Call says. "We're going stargazing." He looks at Alastair questioningly, finally picking up on the ‘ _ you two’  _ in Alastair’s suggestion. "Aren’t you coming, Dad?"

"You two go. You don't want an old man like me tagging along," Alastair jokes. When both Call and Aaron open their mouths to protest, he waves them off with a laugh. "It's alright. Besides, I've got poker tonight. I won't be by myself."

"Okay," Call agrees reluctantly. He turns to Aaron, already grinning. "I know the perfect place we can go. You're going to love it, trust me."

Aaron beams back, his lemonade completely forgotten. “I see only one problem,” he says.

“What’s that?”

Aaron points outside, where the afternoon sunlight is streaming through the back door. “Doesn’t it have to be  _ dark  _ to go stargazing?”

Call wilts in his seat, letting out a groan. “We’ll think of something to do in the meantime,” he promises.

They end up sitting out on the grass and throwing sticks for Havoc. Aaron lazily conjures up a breeze to stir the leaves of the tree arching over the yard, making Call laugh when one of the leaves lands on his head.

When the sun has almost set below the horizon, they climb into Alastair’s silver Phantom, Call calling shotgun whilst Aaron sits in the back with Havoc, who sprawls across the seats and puts his head on Aaron’s lap. The radio is switched to some obscure country channel, and guitar chords play softly in the background as they head towards the hills at the outskirts of town.

Call watches the last of the sun disappear on the horizon and the stars wink into appearance above them. The dark trees flash past on either side of them and the number of cars passing them by shrinks until it’s just them, bumping along in the half-light.

Alastair pulls to a halt by the side of the road, next to a sign declaring  CAMPING GROUND . “I’ll pick you two up from here later,” he tells them. “Call, you’ve got your phone, so just text me when you’re ready to come home.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Call attempts to duck under Alastair’s hand, but Alastair manages to ruffle his hair, smiling fondly as Call yelps in dismay. Aaron grins at them and jumps out of the back seat, holding the door open so Havoc can bound out after him. Call joins them, raking his fingers through his hair, and they watch Alastair drive the Phantom off down the road, the sounds of the car gradually fading away until all they can hear is the rustling of the trees.

“Well, it looks as though it’s just you, me, Havoc, and the great outdoors,” Call remarks, drawing a snort of laughter from Aaron and a huff from Havoc, who promptly starts sniffing a nearby tree trunk.

“Your hair is still messy,” Aaron says, the corners of his mouth tilted upwards in amusement. He reaches out and carefully brushes a strand of ink-black hair away from Call’s forehead.

Call stands completely still, hyper-aware of Aaron’s fingers brushing against his forehead. “There,” Aaron says, sounding pleased. He drops his hand and steps away.

“Thanks,” Call manages to get out, his heart pounding. “The camping site is about a hundred metres that way, but we’re going this way.” He points to a gap in the trees. “There’s a hill where you can see the stars just over there. My dad and I used to camp there. I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to pitch your tent there, but nobody really cares enough to do anything about it if you do.”

“Lead the way,” Aaron smiles.

The gap in the trees leads them into a wide meadow, an expanse of feathery summer grass dotted with the occasional wildflower, the cosmos stretching overhead in all of its star-speckled glory. It’s warm out here despite the late hour, so much so that both boys have taken off their jackets in favour of short-sleeved shirts. Aaron has tied his jacket around his waist and has managed to make it look cool. Call thinks his own probably looks like an apron tied on backwards.

"Woah," Aaron says appreciatively, tilting his head back to look at the stars.

"It gets me every time," Call agrees. He points towards the gentle crest of the hill. "The best view is from the top."

They start up the hill, Aaron keeping pace with Call. The grass is short and wispy, brushing the sides of their shoes as they walk. Havoc bounds ahead, his tongue lolling and his tail wagging, glancing back at them every so often as though to say  _ keep up! _

Aaron throws himself onto the grass at the top of the hill, shaking strands of blond hair out of his eyes. He hugs his knees to his chest and stares upward, awestruck.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Call says, sitting down beside him. Havoc snaps cheerfully at a moth as it flutters past, then contents himself with flopping down on Call’s other side, letting out a huff.

“Yeah.” Aaron’s voice is barely a breath, soft and reverent. He looks absolutely enamoured with the view above them. Call doesn’t blame him.

“Wanna spot constellations?” Call asks.

“I don’t know any,” Aaron admits.

Call bumps his shoulder gently. “I’ll show you.” He flops backwards onto the grass, and after a moment, Aaron mimics him. “We’ll start with Orion,” he decides. “Can you see those three bright stars which are really close together?” He points, realises Aaron probably has a completely different perspective, then shrugs and continues. “Those make up his belt. If you go north from his belt, you get to his shoulders, and if you go south, you get to his feet.”

Aaron frowns. It’s unbelievably adorable, a realisation which Call allows himself to dwell on for approximately half a second before he shoves the thought away in favour of concentrating on the stars. “I think I see it,” Aaron says slowly. “He sort of has one arm above his head?”

“Yup,” Call agrees. “And his other arm is holding his bow, which is made up of a bunch of smaller stars.”

"How do you know all these things?" Aaron wonders.

Call shrugs. "My dad used to take me camping a lot, and stargazing was one of my favourite things to do. We used to lie out under the stars at night for hours." He remembers those nights well: just him and Alastair out in the middle of nowhere, exhausted after a long day of trawling through items at antique fairs or car scrap yards, but still energised enough to stay up spotting constellations together. Some nights they'd make s’mores together, talking and laughing; other nights they'd simply watch the night sky in companionable silence.

"Show me another one?" Aaron asks hopefully, shifting closer to Call.

“Okay," Call agrees, feeling warmth pool in the pit of his stomach. "Uhh...you see Orion’s belt?”

“Uh huh.”

“Follow it down and you’ll get to Sirius - it’s that super bright star, can you see it?”

Aaron’s gaze narrows as he tracks the pattern with his eyes. “Yeah, I see it.”

“That’s part of Canis Major. It makes up the chest - if you follow it across there are three stars which form a sort of triangle for the head, and if you go back to Sirius and follow it down, it forms the body. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it makes sense.” Aaron’s eyes widen suddenly, his face splitting into a grin. “Oh! I see it! It looks like Havoc,” he adds, laughing softly.

Havoc pricks his ears up at the sound of his name, his tail thumping softly against the ground. Call lifts a hand and tangles his fingers in Havoc’s fur. “If Havoc gets to be a constellation, where are we?” he asks, the words spoken before his brain-to-mouth filter can get a word in otherwise.

Aaron hums thoughtfully. His arms are pillowed behind his head, his blond hair fanned out like an angel’s halo. “There,” he decides, lifting one arm to point. “You, me, and Tamara.”

Call squints at the sky. “I have no idea what you’re pointing at.”

Aaron catches Call’s wrist, his grip feather-light, and directs his hand up at the sky. “Do you see those three little stars next to each other? Off to the side of the Havoc constellation?”

Call can’t even focus on how adorable it was that Aaron just called Canis Major  _ ‘the Havoc constellation’ _ , let alone on the stars Aaron is trying to point out: he’s too distracted by the light touch of Aaron’s fingers against his wrist. He gives himself a mental shake and refocuses on the stars, following Aaron’s gaze upwards. “Hey, I see it,” he says in surprise, his gaze catching on a trio of small stars winking dimly beside Canis Major.

Aaron beams. His fingers fall away from Call’s wrist, the warmth fading quickly as the night air wreaths around them. He’s struck by how much he wants to take Aaron’s hand: to twine their fingers together, Aaron’s palm against his, soft and warm and familiar --

“Oh,” Aaron says quietly.

Call snaps back to reality and stares in vague horror at their entwined hands. As in,  _ actually  _ entwined hands. As in, Call apparently has no self control whatsoever and is actually holding Aaron’s hand.

“Sorry,” Call blurts, dropping Aaron’s hand as though burned. “I -- sorry.”

“For what?”

Call turns his head to stare at Aaron. Their faces are only inches apart, grass pillowed beneath their cheeks. “What are you sorry for?” Aaron asks, his voice soft.

Call swallows. “For -- uh, you know…”

“For holding my hand?” When Call nods, Aaron takes his hand and laces their fingers together. “You don’t have to apologise,” he says shyly. “I don’t mind, as long as you don’t. If you’re uncomfortable, we don’t have to…”

Call squeezes his hand. “No. I like it.”

Aaron’s smile lights up his face. “Cool.” He flushes. “I mean, uh…”

“Cool is a good word,” Call shrugs. Aaron laughs breathlessly, gripping Call’s hand, his green eyes glinting with starshine.

They lapse into comfortable silence. Aaron’s hand is warm in his. The other boy’s gaze is fixed thoughtfully on the stars, his lips slightly parted in awe. Call looks away before he can be caught staring.

"Thank you," Aaron says suddenly.

Call glances at him curiously. "For what?"

"For letting me stay with you. For this summer. For everything." Aaron's gaze is open and honest. "This has been the best summer of my life."

Call's heart stutters. "But you stayed with the Rajavis last summer," he says, his tone tinted with uncertainty. "North Carolina doesn't have private chauffeurs or fancy garden parties or five-star meals."

"And that's why I've loved it," Aaron says earnestly. "Don't get me wrong, it was really good of the Rajavis to let me stay with them, and I loved hanging out with Tamara, but sometimes it was a little too much, you know? But here..." He squeezes Call's hand. "It just feels like home, I guess. What I imagine home would feel like."

Call swallows around the lump in his throat. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Call silently takes a deep breath, then admits, "I think this has been the best summer of my life, too."

They meet each other's gazes once again, their faces close enough for Call to make out every freckle on Aaron's cheeks and the light tint of sunburn on the tip of his nose. He can feel Aaron's breath ghosting across his face every time he exhales. He doesn't know who moves first, but in the end it doesn't matter: they both lean in until their lips meet softly, and then they're kissing.

Call's eyes flutter closed and his heart rate accelerates. Aaron's lips are warm and gentle against his own, chapped but sweet, and Call wants to stay in this moment forever. It's better than he could ever have imagined: kissing Aaron Stewart beneath the stars on a warm summer's evening in North Carolina, the rest of the world fading away for a moment, the wind gently stirring the ends of Call's hair.

They both jump in surprise as Havoc starts barking excitedly, his attention caught by something Call couldn't care less about right now. Aaron laughs against Call's mouth before Call breaks away to say, "Havoc, calm down, you idiot, it's probably just a rabbit."

Aaron laughs. Call doesn't think he's ever heard anything that sounds so nice. "He's probably just jealous that he has to share you now."

"Share me?" Call echoes.

Aaron blushes. "Yeah," he stammers. "I mean, if you -- if you're going to be my boyfriend." He adds hastily, "That is, if you  _ want  _ to be my boyfriend --"

Call kisses him again. "Yes," he whispers against Aaron's lips.

"Best summer ever," Aaron whispers back.

Call thinks he agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always welcome :)


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